8: The Parakletos

It is the night of his arrest and Jesus is celebrating Passover with his disciples. He wants to tell them that though he is leaving them, they will not be without him, because the Father and he are sending another parakletos to them. He has been their parakletos but now the Holy Spirit will serve that function for them.

^{John 14:15} If you love me, you will keep my commandments.  ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Parakletos, Who will be with you forever, ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth, Whom the world cannot receive, because it cannot see Him or know Him.  You know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you.  ¹⁸ I’m not leaving you as orphans.  I am coming to you…²⁵ These things I am saying to you while I am remaining with you.  ²⁶ But the Parakletos, the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father is sending in my name, He will teach you all things and remind you of all the things I have told you.

The Greek term parakletos meant someone called alongside to help you, and was often used of legal help, like a legal counselor, “a person of high social standing who speaks on behalf of a defendant in a court of law before a judge” (Wikipedia). It certainly seems to be used this way when applied to Jesus in 1 John 2:

^2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ² He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

He advocates with the Father, on our behalf, concerning our sin, for which he has paid or atoned.

But when used here in the gospel of John of the Holy Spirit, there seems to be a broader meaning, a more general meaning, of “helper.” He is “another” (the Greek suggests ‘another of the same kind’) helper in place of Jesus, who was the disciples’ helper until now. Jesus has been helping them, not just as an advocate with the Father, but as a teacher, a friend, and a leader, teaching them, counseling them, comforting them, rebuking them, guiding them and empowering them. And that is what now the Holy Spirit will do, since Jesus is “leaving.”

Jesus calls Him the “Spirit of truth,” which strongly suggests that His main way of helping Jesus’ disciples is through communicating truth. In fact, he says in verse 26 that the Holy Spirit will “teach you all things and remind you of all the things I have told you.” In John 16:13 Jesus says, “the Spirit of truth…will guide you into all the truth.”

Jesus offers the Holy Spirit to his disciples, who are already believers, as a gift from the Father at Jesus’ request. Whereas in the past the Holy Spirit was given in this role to leaders in Israel and could be taken away, now he comes to even the lowliest believer and remains forever, a prophetic expectation of the kingdom (e.g., Joel 2:28). Jesus calls Him the “Holy Spirit,” because holiness is His defining trait and holiness is what He is tasked with developing in our lives, our true kingdom nature. The world cannot perceive him, but the disciples can. As a spirit He is invisible, but believers know His presence in their lives. He has already been at work in all believers and in the world from creation, but he is establishing a unique relationship with believers upon Christ’s ascension. The Spirit’s coming will be Jesus’ way of not abandoning but remaining with the disciples. If the Holy Spirit is with us, Jesus is with us.

What Jesus is teaching us about the Holy Spirit in a nutshell: The Holy Spirit is Jesus’ equal whom he has sent to complete the task of helping make us all that Jesus intended us to be. He is the Parakletos in Jesus’ place.